Q:US Diplomatic staff evacuated from Consulate in Guangzhou ....

The State Department is evacuating several Americans from China amid health concerns about mysterious symptoms arising after unusual noises detected by U.S. diplomats and their families working in the consulate in Guangzhou.After initial screenings by a medical team dispatched last month when the first incident was reported, the State Department has sent "a number" of affected people to the United States for further evaluation, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.The evacuation was the first sign that the unexplained ailments previously known to have afflicted only one U.S. government employee in China has now broadened and threatens to become a full-blown health crisis like the one that affected at least 24 U.S. diplomats and their families in Cuba.The latest round of evacuations began Wednesday in China, which was still Tuesday in the United States. More diplomats and their dependents are expected to be sent home in coming days. U.S. officials declined to specify exactly how many people are likely to be return for more testing after initial screenings were conducted on dozens of diplomats and family members.

Emperor

Something I read about this mentioned them hearing "the sound of someone dropping marbles on the floor" ....I have heard this intermittently since i moved into this apartment a couple of years ago. Some sciencey guy reckons it's the sound of a couple of surveillance devices interfering with each other. I thought either the oldies upstairs were into some kinky shit or it was the sound of me losing my marbles.

Surveillance on me would be some epically dull shit.

You guys mentioned a sonic weapon. A prankster trying to "brown note" the embassy didn't tune his instrument?

I can only imagine the sort of things the Chinese secret services would hear or see after installing surveillance devices in my apartment's walls. Me masturbating to Japanese porn while my wife is away, me swearing at other Fortnite players at 2am, me singing into the shower, me watching old Star Trek shows. Exciting stuff, really. What a complete waste of time and resources it would be for them.

"marbles on the floor"... err. Always look for a real cause first probably kids. But you'd be amazed who gets surveilled and persecuted with this siht. It's a sound they use a lot - usually to wake people up.

And RandomGuy - dang I love yer answer. But they will literally sit and watch kiddie sick stuff for 8-hour shifts. It's why they have those hollow-gazes.

GUANGZHOU, China (AP) — The U.S. Embassy in China sent its second alert in two weeks Friday to its citizens over unexplained health issues that have prompted the evacuation of a number of U.S. government employees working at a consulate in a southern city.

The alert urged Americans to seek medical help in the event they suffered any "unusual, unexplained physical symptoms or events, auditory or sensory phenomena, or other health concerns."

The alert comes as a U.S. medical team is screening more Americans who work at the Guangzhou consulate. A previous case in Guangzhou, disclosed last month, prompted the tests.

The incidents have raised fears the unexplained issues that started in Cuba in 2016 have expanded to other countries. China says it has uncovered no information that could point to a cause.

The most recent evacuations followed medical testing that revealed they might have been affected. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said "a number of individuals" had been brought to the U.S. but didn't say how many were affected or evacuated.

Friday's alert called for people to be attentive of symptoms including "dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, fatigue, cognitive issues, visual problems, ear complaints and hearing loss, and difficulty sleeping." It urged them "not to attempt to locate the source of any unidentified auditory sensation. Instead, move to a different location."

The U.S. government has deemed the Cuba incidents "specific attacks" on American workers but hasn't publicly identified a cause or culprit. Most of the incidents were accompanied by bizarre, unexplained sounds that initially led U.S. investigators to suspect a sonic attack.

Asked about the latest incidents, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Thursday that the U.S. had not formally raised the matter with Beijing.

"If the U.S. makes formal contact with us, China will continue necessary investigations in an earnest and responsible manner and maintain close communication and cooperation with the U.S.," Hua said at a regularly scheduled news conference.

China earlier said it had looked into the case announced last month but came up with no clues about the cause of the symptoms.

A U.S. official, who wasn't authorized to discuss the situation publicly and requested anonymity, said the evacuated American government workers were being brought from China for testing to the University of Pennsylvania. That's where doctors have been treating and studying patients previously evacuated from the U.S. Embassy in Havana.

The preliminary findings of the medical reports on the 24 personnel affected in Cuba showed they had sensory and memory problems similar to the brain dysfunction seen with concussions.

The Penn team said the patients from Cuba experienced persistent disability though rehabilitation therapy customized for them seemed to help.

Canada in April also ordered families of diplomatic staff in Cuba to return home after mysterious health symptoms were detected in 10 Canadians stationed on the island. Canada said the 10 continued to show unexplained brain symptoms and that "medical information raised concerns for a new type of a possible acquired brain injury."

In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month about the first case in China, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said China had "said all the right things and have demonstrated their willingness to help us identify the vector which led to this medical incident."

The China incidents affect one of the most important of the seven U.S. diplomatic outposts in the country. The Guangzhou consulate opened months after the establishment of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Washington in 1979 and moved to its new purpose-built facility in 2013.

It serves four southern provinces with a combined population of more than 204 million and processes more than 1 million visa applications of all types annually. It is also the only U.S. diplomatic installation in China authorized to process immigrant visas and handle adoptions.

People working in The Canton Place complex, a few kilometers (miles) from the consulate, said Thursday they were just hearing about the incidents, reflecting a lack of coverage in China's entirely state-controlled media.

Aled Williams, a British teacher at a kindergarten said Thursday that the reports sounded "sci-fi-ish."

"Hard to get my head around how it works," he said. "Better watch myself."

Linda Chen, who runs a coffee shop in the area, said she was mystified as to why only certain people seemed to have been affected in an area known for its comfort and safety.

"For me I feel it's very strange. But I don't feel that there's something to be very afraid of because it's probably a very special case," Chen said.

The mystery illness afflicting US diplomats in Guangzhou is similar to an earlier incident that prompted the evacuation of 24 people from the US embassy in Havana (AFP Photo/ADALBERTO ROQUE)

Hong Kong (AFP) - A US health alert issued for China over a mysterious illness has revived fears of a rumoured sonic weapon that first surfaced after a scare involving American diplomats and their families in Cuba two years ago.

Staff who fell ill after hearing strange sounds are being examined by doctors at a consulate in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, with several evacuated to the US and at least one diagnosed with brain trauma.

The new cases eerily echo the odd noises and subsequent illnesses suffered by 24 US diplomats evacuated from Cuba since 2016, deepening a baffling medical enigma.

But the incident also poses a diplomatic conundrum -- how to respond to what some fear may be a deliberate attack against Americans by shadowy foes on Chinese soil.

According to a New York Times report, US officials have privately raised questions about whether China, or Russia, might have separately or in tandem targeted the diplomats.

Washington has so far taken care not to implicate Beijing, which has told US officials it is investigating the incident.

"Until they are certain of the cause, it seems premature to make accusations," said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "I don't think the US is calling it an 'attack'."

It is in stark contrast to the US handling of the Cuba case, when the State Department lashed out at Havana for failing to protect its diplomats.

Washington expelled 15 Cuban diplomats, arguing the authoritarian state must have either carried out the assaults or known who was behind them. President Donald Trump said he held Cuba responsible, although Havana denied any involvement.

There are clear reasons for the US to avoid rocking the boat so readily this time.

As a rising superpower, Beijing possesses significantly greater clout than impoverished Havana, with the cases coming at a precarious moment in US-China relations.

Ongoing talks to avoid a full-blown trade war are balanced on a knife edge, and Beijing's cooperation is likely to be key if hopes for North Korea's denuclearisation ahead of next week's summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un are to be realised.

- Many theories, no proof -

Still lacking proof to support allegations against Cuba, US officials could also be facing up to claims there were no "sonic attacks" after all.

Although the American victims heard strange noises -- described as static or the sound of metal sheets waving -- studies have cast doubt on the "acoustic weapon" hypothesis.

A University of Pennsylvania team examined 21 affected staff from the Cuba embassy, and found they suffered symptoms typical of concussion such as headaches and memory loss.

"There is no known mechanism for audible sound to injure the brain," said study author Douglas Smith. "We are pretty certain that it was not the sound itself that caused the injury."

A Canadian investigation into similar illnesses among its own diplomats in Cuba in April said a sonic attack was "now considered unlikely", while FBI agents sent to Havana reportedly found no evidence to support the theory.

This has not stopped speculation about other possible weapons potentially using microwaves, infrasound or ultrasound, despite technical difficulties in projecting these types of energy over long distances and through structures.

A University of Michigan study in March posed an alternative theory, suggesting the illnesses could be caused by bugging or surveillance jamming devices.

The study showed ultrasonic signals from such devices could clash with each other to create the strange sounds heard by diplomats.

Importantly, this theory would suggest there was no malicious intent -- and even that the US's own equipment could be the cause.

Others have claimed the illness may simply be psychological and dismissed the whole affair as mass hysteria.

- China sceptical -

In China, analysts have queried the absence of a suitable motive for an attack.

"If the Chinese government did it, then why?" said Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Nanjing University. "Is it happy to drive the diplomats out of China? I can't see the reason behind it."

"The Chinese government will not express its dissatisfaction with the US in this way," added Wu Xinbo, a US politics expert at Fudan University.

Forward Question

A: Wow, you really found that nitpicky talking point that elevates the fo

A:Wow, you really found that nitpicky talking point that elevates the fossil fuel industry to the same level as the interests of humanity. Isn't it all just a "liberal" scam, if you don't look too closely at the absence of logic? "Yes, it must be. My masters are hinting that that's what I should believe!"

You've made it clear you are consciously ignoring the pollution and global warming. Since your handlers, the conservative establishment whose dismantling of the carbon credit system and environmental destruction you choose to ignore, have made it clear you should bark in this direction, you are eager to please!

Such an admirably domesticated, dependable, subservient human. I'm sure your handlers will throw you a bone while they bring home the bacon for themselves. You're so obedient, you deserve a doggie cookie! Who's a good boy? You are! Yes, you are. U-S-A! Woof woof woof! -- coineineagh